Not the timeoff i wanted!

Deb climbs ladders everyday at work to get necessary items for customers and employees, etc. and/or to stock the tables, build amazing floor sets and walls to decorate and hold art pieces, paintings, drawings and such. Anywhere from 3 to 10 times or so a day for the past 9 years. She climbs as low as the lowest step (about 1.5 feet) to as high as the highest step (6 feet) on 1 of the 2 ladders. On the other ladder, she also has known to climb as high as the second step from the top of a 12 feet ladder. In the years past at other jobs, Deb has climbed other ladders at other jobs. She has also climbed ladders leisurely.

On this particular cold day, Friday, December 12, 2008, Deb, the manager of the day, wanted to increase the restaurant's overall food/drink sales and items per transaction by having cool gidgets & gadgets like nice wines, openers, hot chocolates, postcards, poems etc. located near the giftshop, register counter, &/or bar (like impulse buy at the grocery store) so each worker could suggestive sale to each customer or the customer could just see the cozy items while they were making their purchases. We experienced snow the day before, which was very exciting to the New Orleans and the Metry peeps. Because in New Orleans and Metairie, it hardly ever snows and this experience was history breaking for us at such an early date, Thursday, December 11, 2008. Anyway, back to the ladder story...



The lunch crow had subsided, and I was about to go to lunch, but I wanted to get an item to stock on the floor. The item was stored in the stock room, ladder high. So I got my usual 6 feet ladder, prompted it up and quickly got on the ladder. No real biggy, I've done this many times before. I was on the 2nd (5 feet high) or 3rd step (4 feet high) from the top, I think I was on the 2nd from the top. Anyway, I lost my balance, grabbed onto,something that I thought was secure at the time, and fell backwards sideways. My comfortable flat shoes left the bottom of my arrival to the hard, no padding, floor. I landed on my right hip and right wrist. Screamed like a mother fucker! 911 was called and I was hauled away, strapped in a stretcher to East Jefferson Hospital (the ER nurse and ER doctor were not very empathetic and caring to my injury). I broke (fractured) my pelvic bone and broke (fractured) my wrist--yea the same one I broke about 4 years ago. The wrist isn't as bad as the first break, but it was a break! The pelvis, a different story! I can't walk, stand, or hop. I can't even lay on my side. I can only sit and lay on my back, that's it.And I have to pee in a bed pan, aka pee pan. I couldn't make it to my 2nd floor flat.So, my car is at the mall, my cats are at my house, and I'm at Bart's raised (5 steps high) house. Yea, Bart gets to feed my cats everyday and take care of their litter at my house, and then he comes to his house and wipes my ass! What a trooper he is! he's taking good care of me. But wait, I haven't pooed yet! ;)

The ER doc said, bed rest for 2 weeks, and then on crutches. The doctor/nurse gave me a couple of morphine shots, which didn't get rid of the pain, just made me loopy and then gave me a prescription of Purcaset and told me to go see my orthopedic doctor on Monday to check out my pelvis and wrist. Does this doctor address how to get to the doctor's office? I can't walk, hop, or skip? Bart can't carry me alone. (he asked his neighbor's assistance with the 5 steps to his house) which took 1 hour. After I made it into inside the house, I sat on a chair,and Bart dragged me and the chair to the bedroom. Bart removed his bed frame underneath the mattress to make the bed even with the chair so I could slide my way from the chair to the bed.

I wonder if you can just pick up a wheelchair somewhere or buy it? I guess you can. It's either a wheelchair or another ambulance to get to the doctor's office.. And what about the crutch thing? what kind of doctor is he? he tells me I will be on crutches but fails to mention that crutches are for people who can put weight on their hands and wrists. HELLO. more pressure on a broken wrist? that's not good.

I'm fucked for the next few weeks. I'm already uncomfortable b/c I can't lay on my side without feeling severe pain. Even my purcaset and the Buenos Aires Muscle relaxers don't help me. My ass is going to get wide, and I am going to gain weight, I can't dance either. No tapping for me. And I just learned how to tap, dammit! No any dancing for me either! No tango, no swing, no nothing, just a couple of bed sores!

bah hum bah,

deb